Researcher offers tips on making Calgary safer for cyclists

That’s the boiled-down findings presented in Calgary Tuesday by Kay Teschke, a researcher at the UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and School of Population and Public Health. Teschke has conducted two important studies into urban cycling safety over the past several years, and while that statement may seem like a no-brainer, her research contains some fascinating insights.

Teschke’s work could hardly be more timely. Despite the growth in popularity of urban cycling throughout the world the past few years, surveys all over the place, including Calgary, show that worries of being injured are still cited as a major reason for people’s reluctance to give it a try. The issue, however, isn’t so simple. Are such fears more perception than reality? We’ve never really known. We can’t even agree on whether helmets are a good idea or not.

That’s why it was refreshing to get some data into the issue. Teschke’s work is among the first in Canada to examine the issue.

Kay Teschke’s research has found the safest type of bike infrastructure.

Perhaps the broadest finding that is the most important. Is cycling safe? The answer is yes, if you consider walking or driving safe. Her data, much of it compiled from B.C.’s government-owned automobile insurer ICBC, found that car drivers, pedestrians and cyclists had about the same number of deaths per 100 million trips, 9.6, 14.7 and 13.8 respectively. The safest by far was transit, and the most dangerous by a mile was motorcyclists (a whopping 537 deaths per 100 million trips). Also, she said that to both individuals and society, the benefits of cycling (increased physical activity, reductions in pollution) were far greater than the risks (injuries, exposure to pollution).

Deeper that, Teschke’s work also revealed the safest kind of routes for cyclists to take. Her research compared the kinds of bike infrastructure — from painted bike lanes to cycle tracks to bike paths — that people preferred to use, and compared that to their safety. Generally, the kinds of routes people like are the safest. But not always. There were some surprises.

For example, her research found that the most dangerous type of route for a cyclist is a busy road lined with parked cars. No surprise there, right? The risks come from both moving traffic and opening doors on parked cars, which is probably why most people hate riding on such roads. Perhaps surprisingly, however, painting a bike lane on such roads did little to increase safety or encourage people to use them. This is an important finding because on-street painted lanes are being adopted by cities all over the place.

“What this shows is this is not a particularly useful expenditure of cycling dollars because it’s not particularly safe and it doesn’t encourage cycling.” Teschke said.

There are, however, quick ways to fix that. Removing parked cars makes such routes both safer and more encouraging to cyclists. But if you don’t want to lose parking spaces, here’s an easy fix: Rearrange things. Swap the bike lane and the parking lane, so that cyclists ride in the gutter lane, and parked cars become a buffer against the moving traffic. Teschke said that makes a big difference in both the perceptions and reality of safety.

What would be even better for cyclists, Teschke said, is separated bike lines, like those recently built on 7th Street S.W. She found such lanes on busy streets have one-tenth the risk (compared to no bike infrastructure). Plus, cyclists love using them. Even small barriers against moving traffic, such as poles, seem to help.

Teschke also revealed some other findings that may come as surprises to Calgarians. On quieter residential streets, slowing traffic does make things safer for everyone, but so-called traffic calming measures, such as traffic circles and extended curbs, can actually make things more dangerous for cyclists, who tend to smash into them.

She also found that multi-use paths of the kind that Calgary prides itself on, thanks to its extensive network, are not as safe as you might think.

“A lot of multiuse pathways have a lot of street furniture, such as bollards and signs, . . . interactions with pedestrians, and a lot of curving routes, so sightlines are terrible,” she says. This can be improved, she thinks, by simply cleaning up problem areas.

Overall, she said the safest infrastructure tends to also encourage the most use. Cycle tracks, bike routes separated from traffic, and off-street paths are the best options for people on bikes.

More generally, she also found that old mantra of strength in numbers tends to be true. The more cyclists in a city, the fewer the rates of injury or fatality. Teschke said she isn’t sure why that is — it could be because drivers are more aware of cyclists in such cities, or more drivers are cyclists themselves — but she said the data shows the truly big increases in cycling safety come when more than two per cent of work trips are taken by bike. Calgary currently sits just below that.

And Teschke did offer a little insight into the contentious helmet debate, even if she hasn’t done any research into their safety.

“I can reduce my risk much more than wearing a helmet by choosing where I ride,” she said.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.